Great Barrington — After nearly 20 years, a plan may soon be in place for the cleanup of the former Ried Cleaners site at 218 Main Street.
The town, through its Planning Department, will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, May 21, at 6 p.m., to review and receive comments on a draft Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives for the site. The meeting will be held at Town Hall and virtually via Zoom.
Copies of the plan were not available at press time.
According to Interim Town Manager Chris Rembold, copies of the plan will be available at the Mason Library and on the town’s website on Monday, May 19.
At the meeting, an overview will be presented of the site’s current conditions and options for remediating the site’s soil and groundwater.
Rembold wrote via email that any remediation work would involve excavating and removing the contaminated soil on the property and that work would start at some point in the summer and be completed by September.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) website, the building on the property, which was built in 1930, is 7,890 square feet and sits on on 0.29 acres.
Ried Cleaners, which was started by Herbert and Nancy Ried, operated in the building for 54 years from 1952 to 2006. The site and building have remained vacant since the couple retired in 2006.
Offers have been made to purchase the property over the years, but each offer fell through mostly due to the multiple environmental issues on the site.
According to the EPA, the environmental issues stem from toxins from the dry-cleaning chemicals the company used during its 54 years in business, with the toxins found in the property’s groundwater and soil.
For decades, the company used perchloroethylene (PCE) as part of its dry-cleaning process. In a 2016 study, the EPA determined PCE can have multiple health effects on humans depending on the length of exposure. Effects from long-term exposure to PCE include different types of cancer, kidney damage, and damage to the immune system.
In December 2024, the EPA issued a rule to phase out the commercial and consumer use of PCE.
According to a site assessment profile on the town’s website published in August 2021, the groundwater beneath the property is contaminated by leaking underground tanks used to store PCE.
The assessment states:
Investigations identified the presence of chlorinated solvents in the soil within the former building footprint, in the indoor air of the existing vacant building and Post Office, and in groundwater on the property and extending off the property.
Investigations and testing since 2008 determined contamination began at the old location of the back building and spread downgradient with groundwater.
The contaminant presence in the Post Office basement makes the basement unsafe for continuous occupancy. Testing has determined that the contamination does not impact properties on the west side of Main Street, like the library. Due to the nature of the contamination the next steps are to continue remediation efforts until the site is safe to use.
In 2012, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) conducted remediation and testing work on the property, eventually placing a $100,000 lien.
The lien was expected to be repaid through proceeds from the property’s sale.
In 2016, reports arose of further environmental issues on the property, including a report of an underground toxic plume in January 2016.
That same year, the town started foreclosure proceedings on the property, eventually taking ownership in May 2019.
In May 2020, the town received a $500,000 grant from the EPA to clean up the property.
At a Selectboard meeting in July 2024, Rembold, who also serves as the town planner, spoke about the property. During the meeting, Rembold said that work on the site had stalled out, but that it was in the town’s best interest to continue to pursue a remediation project. “Just to be clear, the town is not liable for cleaning this up, and we didn’t contaminate [the property],” Rembold said at the July 2024 meeting. “But it is in the town’s interest. The Selectboard has kept this on its priority list because it is a blighted Main Street property that has redevelopment potential. To realize that potential, we need to get it clean. [Former] dry-cleaning sites take a long, long time. I did not know that when we started this process.”
